Door-fastening device.



1 F. L. VAN DUSBN.

DOOR FASTENING DEVICE. APPLICATION II-LBD MAY 29, 1911.

Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

' 2 SHEETS-BR153151- I/III 1". L. V AN DUSEN. DOOR FASTENING DEVICE. APPLIOA'I'IOH FILED MAY 29, 1911.

1,002,340. Patented Sept. 5,1911.

2 BHEETB-SHEET 2.

1 N N h UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK L. VAN DUSEN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BINGI-IAM TRUNK COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DOOR-FASTENING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

Application filed May 29, 1911. Serial No. 630,130.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. VAN DUsEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Door-Fastening Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a fastening device which is more particularly designed for use on the dust doors of wardrobe trunks although the same may also be used for other purposes. These dust doors are usually comparatively thin and provided with a plurality of locking bolts or catches for holding them in a closed position.

It is the object of this invention to provide simple, inexpensive, compact and efficient means whereby a plurality of the looking bolts or fasteners of the dust door ofthe wardrobe trunk may be simultaneously released and the door swung open by one operation and by the use of but one hand, thus permitting of packing and unpacking the trunk more easily and conveniently and also permitting of producing a neater appearing trunk.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 2 sheets: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wardrobe trunk showing the sections thereof swung apart and its dust door equipped with my improved fastening device. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sec tion, on an enlarged scale, taken in line 2-2, Fig. 3, and showing the door fastening device from the inner side of the door. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken in line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken in line 4-4:, Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several vlews.

In its general organization the wardrobe trunk shown in the accompanying drawings for illustrating this invention comprises two sections 1, 2, which are pivotally connected at one pair of their corresponding vertical longitudinal edges so that the same can be either swung open or apart, as shown in Fig. 1, or the same can be folded against each other for closing the trunk. One of these sections, preferably the right hand one, is provided with a vertical tier of compartments adapted to contain the smaller articles of apparel while the other or left hand section is adapted to contain hangers upon which suits of clothes and like large articles are supported. The hanger section of the trunk is normally closed so as to render the same dust proof by means of a comparatively light door 3 which is pivotally supported at its front edge on the adjacent front edge of the'hanger section by means of hinges 4 so that this door can swing horizontally into its opened or closed position.

5 represents a horizontally sliding looking bolt or catch which is arranged on the central part of the rear edge of a door and adapted to engage with a locking recess 6 on the adjacent part of the vertical rear wall of the hanger section.

7 8, represent two vertically movable locking bolts or catches one of which 7 is arranged at the top of the door near the rear edge thereof and adapted to engage with a looking recess 9 on the upper wall or top of the hanger section while the lower catch or looking bolt 8 is arranged at the lower edge of the door and vertically in line wit-h the upper bolt and adapted to engage with a looking recess 10 of the lower wall of the hanger section. Each of these locking bolts is mounted in a guideway, housing, or casing 11 secured to the rear or inner side of the door and is yieldingly held in its projected position by means of a spring 12 arranged within the casing 11 and bearing at one end against the rear end of the locking bolt while its opposite end bears against the rear end of the casing. The outer or front ends of the locking bolts are rounded or beveled in the usual manner so that upon swinging the door shut the locking bolts by engaging their beveled sides with the walls, body or fixed parts of the walls, are first retracted and after the same have been shut fully the locking bolts are projected into these recesses by their springs and the door is held in a closed position. My improved lock operating mechanism whereby these several locking bolts may be simultaneously withdrawn and the door swung open is constructed as follows:

13 represents a cup or dishshaped supporting frame or casing which is preferably of circularform and provided with an inwardly dished central part 14: which is fitted into a circular opening formed in the dust door of the trunk at a point vertically in line with the vertically movable locking bolts and horizontally in line with the horizontally movable locking bolt. The flange 15 of this casing which projects laterally from the front edge of the dished portion of the same is secured to the front side of the dust drawer by screws 16, as shown in the drawings or by any other suitable means.

17, 18 represent two vertically movable slides or blocks arranged in rear of the bottomor rear wallof the dished central part of the supporting frame and guided in their movements between this part of the frame and a housing 19 secured to the rear side of the supporting frame and forming vertical guideways which receive the upper and lower slides or bearing blocks. The upper slide is connected with the upper locking bolt by an upright shifting rod 20 which passes through the top of the housing 19 and the bottom of the housing of the upper locking bolt. The lower slide 18 is connected with the lower locking bolt by means of a vertical shifting rod 21 passing through openings formed in the bottom of the housing 19 and the top of the housing or guideway of the lower locking bolt. The upper and lower locking bolts are always moved oppositely, the projection of these bolts being effected by their springs so that the up- I per bolt movesupwardly and the lower bolt downwardly into their operative positions while the retraction of these bolts for moving the upper bolt downwardly and the lower bolt upwardly preparatory to opening the door is effected by means of two finger pieces or handles 22 which are secured to the front sides of the slides and project forwardly through vertical slots 23 in the bottom of the supporting frame and into the dished part thereof where the front ends of these finger pieces are accessible on the frontor outer side of the door for operating the locking bolts. The front ends of these finger pieces terminate flush with or short of the outer side of the'door so as to avoid v any projection of the same beyond the plane of the door and thus permit the two sections of the trunk to close together without interference.

24 represents a horizontal shifting rod passing through openings in the central part of the housing on the supporting frame and in the back of the guide or housing of the horizontal locking bolt and connected at its outer end with this locking bolt while its inner end is provided with a wedge-shaped shifting head 25, as shown in Fig. 2. This shifting head is preferably constructed of triangular form by bending the inner end of the horizontal shifting rod upon itself.

In the normal projected position of the several locking-bolts the head of the horizontal shifting rod is arranged with its oppositely inclined upper and lower slides between the upper and lower slides of the respective locking bolts, as shown in Fig. 2. Upon pressing the two finger pieces together by one hand for the purpose of releasing the upper and lower catches the upper and lower slides are at the same time engaged with the inclined faces of the shifting head, whereby the latter is caused to move backward horizontally and retract the intermediate locking bolt from the body of the trunk, thereby simultaneously releasing the several locking bolts of the door. After these bolts have been thus released and while the hand is still grasping the finger pieces the door may be pulled or swun into an open position by the same hand. pening of the door may thus be effected very conveniently and expeditiously and as there are but few parts visible from the outer side of the door it renders the trunk more attractive when the sections are spread apart.

The several shift-ing rods are preferably constructed of round stock, but the inner end of the central rod 24 is flattened so as to provide wider bearing surfaces for the wedge-shaped heads for the shifting slides to engage with. In order to permlt these slides to approach each other sufliciently close to withdraw the central locking bolt from the body of the trunk without making the supporting frame and the associated parts unnecessarily large, the horizontal shifting rod 24 is provided with a flattened neck 26 adjacent to the wedge-shaped shifting head, as shown .in Fig. 2. It is desirable, however, for the sake of appearance that this flattened port-ion should not be visible when the locking bolts are retracted and the door is swung open, and for this reason this flattened portion or neck is made sufliciently short so that the solid or enlarged part of the horizontal shifting rod in its fully retracted position is wholly within the housing 19, thereby giving the device as a whole a very substantial and heavy appearance. To permit the shiftin slides to engage with the flattened neck 0 the horizontal shifting rod and still enable the slides to be made comparatively wide so that they will work easy and not engage with the enlarged inner part of the horizontal rod, those corners of the slides adjacent to the inner end of the enlarged part of the shifting rod 24 are beveled or cut away, as shown at 27, so as to clear such enlarged part when the slides are moved toward each other their fullest extent and engage with the flattened neck of the horizontal rod.

I claim as my invention:

A door fastening device comprising three sliding locking bolts two of which are arranged vertically in line with each other and movable inversely while the third is movtwo vertically movable bolts, a shifting rod and parts connected therewith in a projected 10 connected with each bolt, a wedge-shaped position.

head arranged on the rod of the horizontally Witness my hand this 29 day of April, sliding bolt, inversely movable slides pro- 1911.

vided with bearing faces engaging with opposite inclined sides of the wedge-shaped FRANK VAN DUSEN' head and also provided with finger pieces, Witnesses:

means for guiding said slides and head, and

THEO. L. PoPP, springs for yieldingly holding said bolts ANNA HEIGIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

